The International Judo Federation recently announced that the qualification system for the 2012 Olympic Games has been revised.

Most notably, the process by which athletes will gain Olympic qualification points for the 2012 Games will now begin on May 1, 2010. The process will close on April 30, 2012.

Athletes who have earned points on the World Rankings List will retain those points for ranking and seeding purposes, but any points earned prior to May 1, 2010 WILL NOT COUNT toward the roster that will be used to select the athletes that will compete at the 2012 Olympic Games.

In addition, the time period with which athletes will retain points after they have been earned has changed to the following:

In the first 12 months after the tournament the points will count 100%

After 12 months the points will be reduced to 50%

After 24 months the points will be reduced to 0 and not accounted for anymore

The IJF has defined the point of expiration as the first day of the month in which points are earned. Therefore, an athlete who earns 24 points on March 30 will see his or her points reduced to 12 (50%) on March 1 of the following year and the points will be removed entirely on March 1 two years after the original tournament.

In a statement, the IJF explained the rationale for the revisions as follows:

Modification of the Qualification System for London 2012 Olympics.

Recently the IJF EC had to review the external elements that are affecting the global sports scene and also the principles of the ASOIF and ANOC with regard to the Olympic qualification system adopted for judo. It is now obvious, that the global economic downturn is affecting, and will continue to affect, the important support provided to sport by governmental agencies as well as the private sector, to which the sport of judo is no exception. Such a development could not have been envisaged at the time when the new Olympic qualification system for judo was being put together.

There are, additionally, other factors that now prompt a review of the situation including the principles set by the ASOIF and ANOC for Olympic qualification in general. At a meeting of the IJF President Mr. Marius Vizer, Mr. J.L. Rougé and Mr. V. Barta with the IOC sports directors in Lausanne on 27 February 2009, it was concluded, that the IJF will modify its otherwise progressive qualification system with regard to the current circumstances.